A fuel cell is a device which converts chemical energy to electrical energy through an electrochemical reaction (see, for example, Patent Literature 1). A solid oxide fuel cell, which is a class of such fuel cell, includes layers of a fuel electrode, an electrolyte, and an air electrode stacked together to serve as a power generation unit of the fuel cell, and is configured to supply the fuel electrode with a fuel gas such as hydrogen or hydrocarbon from the outside and to supply the air electrode with an oxidant gas such as air, thereby generating electricity.
In general, a power generation cell being a power generation unit of a fuel cell is sandwiched by a pair of separators from both sides. A fuel flow path or an air flow path is defined between the power generation cell and the corresponding one of the separators. In addition, there is a power generation cell that is supported on a metal support for ensuring strength.